View All Pages

Student Learning Outcomes

The Course Outline of Record Header

Student Learning Outcomes

​​A Student Learning Outcome (SLO) is a clear statement of what a student will be able to do with what they have learned, upon successfully completing a course, program or service. It describes the assessable and measurable knowledge, skills, abilities or attitudes that students should attain by the end of a learning process.

Primary Characteristics

An SLO has three primary characteristics:

  1. States what a learner will be able to do upon successful completion of a course, program, service, and/or degree or certificate
  2. Is expressed using active verbs, and incorporates one or more of the domains of learning (cognitive, psychomotor, or affective)
  3. Is assessable and measurable

Domains of Learning

SLOs for a particular course or program may incorporate any or all of the following three domains of learning that were developed by Bloom to classify intellectual behavior and learning:

  1. Cognitive (knowledge and understanding)
  2. Psychomotor (physical skills and abilities)
  3. Affective (attitudes, behaviors, and values)

SLOs for Leveled and Sequential Courses

When creating leveled and/or sequential courses, faculty must follow state guidelines which mandate that “each course must be distinct and have different student learning outcomes for each level or variation” (State Chancellor’s Office, Credit Course Repetition Guidelines Links to an external site., 2013, p. 26). In general, leveled courses are active participatory courses in physical education, visual arts, or performing arts that are related in content. They are sometimes referred to as course “families.”

SLO Resources

Guidelines for writing Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) have been developed by the Student Learning Outcomes Advisory Committee (SLOAC), now known as the Institutional Effectiveness Committee (IEC). 

For complete information on writing SLOs, please reference the Skyline College SLOAC Framework: An Implementation Guide for the Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment Cycle SLOAC Links to an external site..